Kriemhild Gretchen

Kriemhild Gretchen (KRIEMHILD•GRETCHEN) is the witch form of Madoka Kaname. She appears in second and fourth timelines of Episode 10; a witch form of Madoka (whether she can be considered Kriemhild is up for debate) also appears in episode 12.

In the second timeline, her formation involves thunderclouds coalescing initially into a giant humanoid and then she seems to form a mountain-like being.

In the fourth timeline, she is shown as a giant creature, actually the size of a mountain. Her name was not shown at all during initial broadcast, but was added in the fourth timeline in a webcast version one week later. According to Kyubey, strength of this incarnation of hers is of such a magnitude that she could obliterate the planet within ten days.

Her appearance in both timelines is essentially identical (if one looks closely at her fourth timeline appearance, they will see the head at the top of the shadow between the outstretched arms), though in the second timeline only her head was really shown at all, with the body still forming.

In episode 12, Madoka's all-powerful witch form, who may or may not be considered another form of Kriemhild Gretchen, appears at the end of the universe, born from all the grief Madoka had shouldered from the magical girls she had saved, due to her supremely hopeful wish. She inhabits a comet-sized grief seed and, unlike the second and fourth timelines' versions of Kriemhild, has a fully-shown face (although the left half is either blank or covered in shadow); her head is sun disc-shaped, her open mouth resembles the moon, and her right eye resembles the earth. She is slain by the "goddess" form of Madoka before she can consume the earth.

Witch Cards

救済の魔女。その性質は慈悲。この星の全ての生命を強制的に吸い上げ彼女の作った新しい天国（結界）へと導いていく。 この魔女を倒したくば世界中の不幸を取り除く以外に方法は無い。もし世界中から悲しみがなくなれば魔女はここが天国であると錯覚するだろう。

Kriemhild Gretchen Runes KRIEMHILD•GRETCHEN Type Witch of salvation Nature Mercy Episodes Episode 10 Witch of salvation. Her nature is mercy. She absorbs any life on the planet into her newly created heaven--her barrier. The only way to defeat this witch is to make the world free of misfortune. If there's no grief in this world, she will believe this world is already a heaven.

絶望の魔女。その性質は強訴。力尽きた全ての魔法少女と叶うことがなかった全ての希望の代弁者。この宇宙を書き換える希望が生まれると同時に絶望の泥より生まれ果てしなき悲鳴をその身に詰めて膨らみ続ける空気人形。魔法少女の因果が回る限り、この魔女は途方もない大きさまで膨らみ続け、やがてはその身体で銀河すらも圧し潰してしまうだろう。

????? Runes ????? Type Witch of Despair Nature Direct Petition Episodes Episode 12, Madogatari Event The Witch of Despair. Her nature is direct petition. The mouthpiece for all the unfulfilled hopes of all spent magical girls. If a hope is born that can rewrite the universe, then at the same time, it is born from the mud of despair. Everlasting wailing fills her body, a continuously swelling, empty doll. At the end of a magical girl’s karma, this witch continues to swell to absurd sizes. And in the end, her body could even destroy the galaxy.

Minions

救済の魔女の手下。その役割は計量。天国へ昇る者達の心臓をその秤へ乗せ罪の重さを暴き見せる。罪深き者へは魔女からのより深き慈悲が与えられるだろう。

????? Runes ????? Type Witch of Salvation's minion Duty Measuring Episodes Madogatari Event The Minion of the Witch of Salvation. Their task is measurement. They can expose the [impurities] of the hearts of those who go to Heaven by weighing the sins place on their scales. The sinful are perhaps granted even more profound mercy than from the witch.

Magia Record Descriptions

Anime Japan 2017 card

The Doppel of Mercy. Her form is that of salvation. This Doppel is a replica of mercy. The owner of these feelings dreams of saving everyone and everything inside the Doppel. This Doppel, which has powers similar to that of a god's, will probably level the earth and reduce it all to dust.

In-Game (Normal version)

The Doppel of mercy. Its form is salvation. The master of this emotion attempts to save all things in creation. This Doppel resembles a giant, floating Soul Gem. When it appears, everything around it is pulled into the interior of the substance it produces, and is thereby rendered helpless. Thereafter, the Doppel surfaces dramatically, shines, and embraces all of its surroundings in arrows of light. Throughout all this, the emotion’s master sleeps continuously within the giant Soul Gem.

Haregi version

The Doppel of mercy. Its form is a New Year’s congratulation. Within the Doppel’s interior, the master of this emotion turns her thoughts toward the new year that’s about to begin. This Doppel concentrates all the wishes made over the past year into this one moment, and bestows them upon its target as a merciful blessing. The sheer scale of the wishes dreamed of by this Doppel, a being alive for just a fraction of a moment, are sure to equally crush every creature on Earth, a planet that has prospered over many billions of years.

Observations

• In Episode 1, shortly after the runic text reading "Prologue in Heaven", we see the upside-down form of a giant shadow above Walpurgis Night's spell circle (the symbols seen behind Walpurgis Night). Based off her appearance and her desire to create "heaven", it can only be concluded that this shadow is Kriemhild Gretchen.
• Kriemhild can only be defeated if the world is rid of all misfortune within the ten days it will take for her to destroy it. This could mean that the only feasible way of defeating her is by having a girl become a magical girl with the wish to rid the world of misfortune (or, alternately, to just kill Kriemhild outright -- which would probably make the new magical girl a witch even more powerful than Kriemhild herself).
• Since she rids the world of misfortune herself in given time that means the witch might just die out once her job is done and all the Incubators would have to do is pick up her huge grief seed afterwards.
• It's probable that when Kyubey says Kriemhild will "destroy the planet" he simply means that Kriemhild's barrier will grow to encompass it or that she will wipe out all life on it in favor of her dream world barrier. In the event the latter were the case, Kriemheld could be likened to the biblical Apocalypse. All sinners (misfortune) are destroyed before paradise itself (the witch's barrier) settles on Earth for those still alive.
• In Episode 12, Madoka, upon absorbing all the grief of fellow magical girls, transforms into an "ultimate witch" (see picture below). The name of this witch is not known and her appearance is also substantially different - however, her actions correspond well to the description on this card - she was born from all the grief of the world, and is defeated by rewriting the rules of the universe.
• Kriemhild's Grief Seed has a symbol that resembles a shooting star. Shooting stars are associated with wishes.

Trivia

• In Goethe's Faust, Gretchen, also known as Margarete, was the name of Faust's lover. She dies at the end of Part 1 of Faust, but returns at the end of Part 2 as a Pentinent in heaven. She is allowed to lead Faust's soul into heaven's higher spheres.
  • Some studies suggest that Faust refers to the girl as Margarete (meaning pearl) at the beginning because of her purity and innocence, and changes to the diminutive Gretchen after their intercourse, to point out her spoiled purity. In the same way, the fact that this witch is named Gretchen, rather than Margarete, could represent the corruption of Madoka's soul.
• Kriemhild, also known as Gudrun, is a figure from Norse Mythology. She is an important character in the epic poem Nibelungenlied. Note also that Kriemhild comes from the German words for "mask" and "battle".
• Some have come to believe that the mask shown at the end of the ending credits is actually Kriemhild's face, considering "Kriemhild"'s meaning of "battle mask".
  • In the Madoka Magica Online game an accessory named "Faust's Masked"　(ファソトマスク) appeared for a limited time. The mask is halved, like Ultimate Kremhild's, and can be equipped to any Magical Girl's face.
• Kriemhild Gretchen's appearance as a giant shadow may be based off the phenomenon known as a Brocken spectre. In both German folklore and Goethe's Faust, Walpurgis Night occurred on the Brocken, a mountain peak in Germany. The conditions on the Brocken often cause Brocken spectres, which are magnified shadows of climbers being projected onto mist or clouds. Kriemhild Gretchen appears after the witch known as Walpurgis Night is defeated. If this is true, it's also possible that Kriemhild is not as large as she appears.
• Meine Göttin ("My Goddess"), also a poem written by Goethe on 15 September 1780 and sent at once to Charlotte von Stein. It was first published in 1789 in Goethes Schriften. Written in hymnic form, the poem is a panegyric of the poetic imagination.
• According to witch animator and designer InuCurry, Walpurgis Night's and Kriemhild Gretchen's silhouettes are supposed to make a pair.
  • Puella Magi Production Note further reveals that Kriemhild Gretchen is meant to look like the lower half of a sand timer, while Walpurgis Night looks like the upper half. Interestingly, Homura's shield has also been described as a sand timer.
• In the Madoka Magica Portable Game, in addition to her ribbon, Kriemhild Gretchen's grief seed is shown with black wings in the Kyoko route. It's also shown with black wings for the witch kiss available in the PSP custom themes available with the limited edition version of the game. Art from Inu Curry's special gallery game bonus reveals another depiction of the grief seed and the interior of the Kriemhild Gretchen, otherwise known as the Witch of Salvation.

Gallery

Official Art

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  Puella Magi Madoka Magica Official Guidebook "You Are Not Alone"

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  Kriemhild Gretchen's minion revealed in the Madogatari Event

Anime and Manga Official Gallery

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  The birth of Kriemhild Gretchen in the second timeline.

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  Madoka/Kriemhild's grief seed.

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  Madoka's witch transformation in the second timeline.

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  Madoka's witch form.

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  Kriemhild Gretchen as seen just before Homura resets in the fourth timeline in the Nicovideo Channel broadcast.

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  A closeup of the face of the ultimate witch form of Madoka born as a result of her wish in the story timeline.

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  A giant shadow with Walpurgis Night's symbol, seen at the beginning of episode 1. A possible Gretchen-Walpurigs fusion?

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  The birth of Kriemhild Gretchen as seen in the second timeline in the manga.

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  Kriemhild Gretchen as she is seen in the fourth timeline in the manga.

PSP Gallery

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  Screenshot from the Kyoko game route

• Gretchen PSP Witch Kiss.jpg

  Witch Kiss

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  Witch kiss and grief seed

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  From Inu Curry special art gallery

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  Interior. It's interesting to note that it is filled with chairs like Madoka's house. In particular her's and her mother's room.

Magia Record

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  Anime Japan 2017 card

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  Sprite

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  Haregi ver. Sprite

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  In-game Card

External links

• Kriemhild Gretchen card at official website (Japanese)
• Kriemhild Gretchen pixiv fanart